


Six of Knives

by effystonem



Category: Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Crimes & Criminals, Fantasy, Grishaverse, Heist, Multi, Unofficial Sequel, my version of crooked kingdom basically
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-10 02:52:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5568016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/effystonem/pseuds/effystonem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six dangerous outcasts. Another impossible heist. Crime, romance, action, fantasy, friendship, etc. Rating may change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. WYLAN

If he looked closely enough, with the right lighting, Wylan Van Eck could nearly see his hair coming back. It had started to curl a little more now, and there were strands of red gold weaved throughout it. Even his golden Shu eyes had started to neutralize. They were already specked with blue. Wylan blinked at himself, but he didn’t like to look for too long (especially not if Jesper was in the room. That would certainly lead to merciless teasing). Nina had been Tailoring him every day, but she was still weak--he could hardly blame her for his appearance. After all, she was the reason their plan had worked so perfectly, and the reason that Kuwei was still safe, hidden away in a secure room in the basement of the Emerald Palace.

“I’m sorry,” Nina Zenik said quietly.

She was sitting on Wylan’s bed in his room at the hotel. Still frail and weak as she was recovering from the _jurda parem,_ Nina wasn’t able to stand for very long.

“I’m doing my best,” she continued, leaning back against the wall and observing Wylan.

“I know,” Wylan told her, trying to smile in what he thought was a reassuring way. “Besides, I knew what I was signing up for. Kuwei’s not a bad-looking guy. Although,” he continued, “strangers have been trying to speak Shu with me in the streets.”

“I could teach you,” she offered brightly. “But my Shu’s getting a little rusty. All you people ever do is speak Kerch,” she shuddered.

Wylan rolled his eyes. Nina was proud of her way with languages, and she wasn’t afraid to talk about it. Often. But Wylan was appreciative when it meant that her conversations with Matthias could take place in Fjerdan, and he wouldn’t have to hear their sickeningly sweet words exchanged. They had been especially tight ever since Matthias had been forced to separate from her during the showdown with Van Eck, and the giant Fjerdan had spent much of the past few days sitting by the Nina’s bedside, holding her hand and murmuring to her in low tones.

Strangely enough, Wylan had began to form somewhat of a bond with Nina over the past couple of days. He wasn’t sure if it was the hours spent Tailoring together as Nina fought to regain her health and her strength, or just the lack of Inej, but for some reason Nina had been turning to Wylan as a confidante. He figured that he had earned her respect when he had agreed to pretend to be Kuwei, despite the possible side effects. In fact, Wylan felt like he had earned his _own_ respect. Although it had felt a little shady at the time to pull one over on Jesper, that had been entirely Kaz’s decision. Wylan’s participation in the plan, even if it hadn’t been his idea, had saved Kuwei. And now he knew exactly what his father thought of him. And he knew that his father would have no qualms about killing him. But he had tried not to dwell on that one.

Matthias approached the doorway. He was so heavy on his feet. Glowering, he looked in at Wylan and Nina.

“Brekker wants us downstairs. Now.”

“Alright alright,” Nina trilled. She put a hand against the wall to support herself and stood carefully. Matthias grabbed her and put an arm around her, then said something to her in Fjerdan. The two left, leaving Wylan alone.

Wylan took his time getting downstairs, making sure to close all of his drawers and lock his trunk, before he walked into the hallway. In the room at the end of the hall, Jesper was hurriedly stashing away some money. Wylan pretended that he was very interested in a painting on the wall, and waited until Jesper came out.

“Wylan,” Jesper acknowledged. “Think he’s got her?”

Wylan shrugged.

“Of course he does,” Jesper reassured himself. “He’s Kaz.”

They walked downstairs to the bottom floor together, side by side. They stood so close that their arms were nearly touching. Wylan didn’t say anything.

Kaz, Nina, and Matthias were already gathered in one of the conference rooms. Nina and Matthias sat together, while Kaz stood at the head of the table, watching Wylan and Jesper approach.

Kaz looked dark, darker than usual, and he had ever since Inej had been captured. His hair had grown longer at the sides than it had ever been before, and there were nearly permanent purple circles rimming his eyes. He was pale and thin, and his limp had become even more pronounced. He seemed weaker without the spy around.

“I’ve found her,” Kaz announced.

Nina cried out in happiness, while Jesper let out an audible sigh of relief. Wylan grinned. Even Matthias couldn’t help but break his stony facade to crack a smile.

Kaz leaned his cane against the wall and sat down at the head of the table, surveying the Dregs. (Wylan wasn’t sure whether or not he was actually considered one of the Dregs, but he liked to think so. After all, Inej didn’t have a tattoo, either.)

“We have to get her out before the end of the week,” Kaz told them. He had clearly taken Van Eck’s words to heart. “And it won’t be easy. Any of you are free to leave, if you like. Now that there aren’t thirty million _kruge_ involved.”

He glared at them, as if daring them to leave. No one moved.

“So where is she?” Jesper asked, leaning back in his chair. He was, as usual, unable to stop fidgeting. His dark fingers tapped the surface of the table in a wave, twitching and bending randomly. Wylan watched them, but Jesper didn’t seem to notice.

“The good thing is, Inej is in Kerch. The bad thing is, she’s being held in Berlennig.”

“The prison?” Wylan asked, mouth gaping. Wylan had heard lots of rumours about Berlennig--although it was not supposed to be any rougher or tougher than Hellgate (certainly not), all of the worst criminals in Kerch ended up there. It was the sort of place that Wylan had always secretly imagined Kaz ending up in. He could not, however, picture Inej there. What had Van Eck had to tell the _stadwatch_ to get her in _there_?

Kaz nodded. “Yes, Wylan, the prison. The most heavily guarded prison in Kerch.” A smile crept up his face, eerie and foreboding. “Looks like we’re doing this again.”

“And this time,” Matthias grumbled, “without the Wraith.”


	2. INEJ

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She had always trusted the gods to choose the right path for her, but somehow Inej doubted that the Saints could find her here.

When a huge guard slipped a plate of food through the slit in her door, he sneered at her. “ _ Wraith, _ ” he spat, like it was a dirty slur. Inej had once been feared, and in here, she was only laughed at. 

Then again, she figured, she must be quite a pitiful sight. She had been permanently stationed in the back corner of her cell for a few days, still weak and injured, eating ravenously every stitch of food that was sent to her. She was still in so much pain. And there was no escape, not from Berlennig. All she could do now was sit back and hope that Kaz would get here before Van Eck came back for her. He would be here in a matter of days, and Inej was still too weak after her fall to withstand much torture. Her mind may be able to hold out, but her body would not.

Although she had only been here for a few days, they had started to blend together. Each day the prisoners were woken before dawn, with no breakfast. On the first day, her head was shaved.  _ I look like Matthias,  _ Inej had thought wryly. The day always began with an icy cold shower, and then a firm pat down over the cheap garments that Berlennig provided. After that, they went onto chores, which mostly meant scrubbing the prison with a toothbrush on her hands and knees. To the Kerch, hard work was valued above all else, and those in power believed that the only way the prisoners could begin to redeem themselves in the eyes of Ghezen was gruelling, back-breaking work. Inej had been so weak on the first day that she had collapsed onto a dirty toilet seat. When a guard kicked her awake, she had to rub her forearm where her tattoo had once been, to remind herself of all that she had done, and all that she had been through. And what was still left to do. Defeat Van Eck and destroy  _ jurda parem.  _ Not that she could do that from within a jail cell. 

At night, she barely slept. Inej spoke to her Saints now more than ever, and longed for her knives. She had always trusted the gods to choose the right path for her, but somehow Inej doubted that the Saints could find her here.

During the days, she thought of Kaz. She found herself wondering, at every instant, what he was doing. Did he weep for her? Could Kaz Brekker even weep? She wondered how things would be when she returned. If he would still wear armour. 

And of course, she worried for the others. She worried most for Nina, who had still been high off of the  _ parem  _ when Inej had seen her last. Inej had not had much time for female friendship throughout her life, but she had found some kind of solace in Nina. Inej  _ liked  _ Nina, and respected her. She respected not only Nina’s power, but also her kindness, her effort, and her enchanting ability to flirt herself out of any situation. Inej often found herself wishing for Nina’s presence, perhaps sitting in the other corner of her cell, chatting away about Matthias and cake and distracting Inej from her own worries. And now Nina was alone, surrounded by men who might overestimate her strength, maybe just fighting to stay alive. Inej knew that she was strong, but  _ parem  _ was something else entirely. She had seen the effects of it on Grisha, and knew how addictive it could be. If Nina couldn’t kick the addiction, she could die. Inej worried about this. Incessantly. 

She worried about Wylan. Finding out that your father was eagerly willing to kill you could never be a good feeling, and she thought of him every day, alone in the world, just a naive artist lost among thieves and killers. Although she had not spoken to him much, Inej felt protective over him just the same, and would do anything now to have just a buoyant smile from him.

She worried for Jesper, and about Jesper’s gambling addiction. She wondered if Kaz was done punishing him for his… indiscretion. She was afraid that he was going to do something stupid; Jesper had always been willing to lay everything on the line for Kaz, and now, Inej feared (and partially, hoped) that the sharpshooter would be willing to do the same for her. Jesper liked action, as fast-paced as possible, and Inej knew that he would be the first to volunteer for a rescue mission. She worried that someday, he would get himself killed.

And then there was Matthias. Inej wasn’t privy to much of what had happened between Matthias and Jarl Brum, but she knew it had been hard for Matthias. She could see in his face and his jaw that leaving Fjerda, this time as a true traitor and criminal, had been unmistakably painful for him.

Kaz. Her heart hurt. She wondered about Kaz.

A face appeared in the small window on her cell door. It was a boy in a  _ stadwatch  _ uniform, but Inej didn’t recognize him. His face was unlined and hairless, and his eyes were wide. Nearly popping out of his head wide.The guard flipped up the glass on the window, leaving only the metal crosshatch separating her from the outside world. He leaned in toward it and cleared his throat, after glancing conspicuously down the hallway. He seemed twitchy.

“Inej Ghafa?”

She could see him shift uncomfortably when she did not respond, but Inej saw no reason to acknowledge him. After all, he must know who she was.

“I have a message for you,” he said in a quiet voice. 

If she could have glanced around to see if any other guards were nearby, she would’ve. She was alarmed. The Wraith moved closer to the window, now less afraid of the guard that she could see he was trembling. Clearly, he was nervous.

“Tell me,” Inej said quietly. “What is it?”

“Dirtyhands”--he winced--“is coming. Stay put.”

With one last, terrified glance at Inej, the guard shut the glass and stalked off down the hallway.


End file.
